Claims rapist tampered with GPS

Claims sex offender tampered with GPS - The West Australian

A dangerous sex offender still thinks he should be released on bail, despite allegations he tampered with his GPS monitoring device last week while already facing a charge of breaching his strict supervision order

Murray John Winder, 55, whose record includes rape and child sex offences, was released on a ten-year supervision order by a Perth judge in 2011.

But last week he was arrested and locked up in Carnarvon after he allegedly removed his monitoring bracelet - an offence that carries a mandatory prison sentence if proved.

Police were alerted that Winder's GPS unit had allegedly been tampered with by an automatic alarm.

It is believed to be the first time a dangerous sex offender had been charged with breaching their supervision order by tampering with a GPS tracking device.

Winder was accused of refusing to provide a breath test to authorities, in breach of his supervision order, back in March.

Winder was determined as a dangerous sex offender by Justice John McKechnie, who said he was satisfied the risk of releasing him into the community could be managed by a supervision order, despite him having a mild mental disability.

Justice McKechnie also noted concerns about the "party like atmosphere" in the neighbourhood near where Winder proposed to live - which meant there were numbers of unsupervised children in nearby streets at any one time.

Magistrate Steven Heath said he would need to see a full bail report before he made any judgment, and the case was adjourned until later this month.